Journey to Rio

I now know why I gain weight after almost every business trip.

I left for the GAC 2011 4 days earlier so I could spend 3 days by myself in Rio before the work week started. And as usual, I flew on my company's preferred airline, SQ for the 26 hr flight into Sao Paulo where I would then take a flight on TAM to Rio.

The flight to Sao Paulo was some time after midnight and the almost non-stop feeding started soon after we were airborne. Courtesy of the Supper Menu (yes, at that hour) or the SG to Barcelona leg, I had one of the best crabmeat cocktail I'd ever had in my life.

This was followed by the main course. I had the recommended "Veal Grenadin with crystallised tomatoes, eggplant cavier, button mushrooms and black olives". Now, despite how it turned out on picture, I would strongly recommend this dish to anyone on a SQ flight if the dish is available. The eggplant cavier did not taste the least mushy or "vegetable-tasting" but was a rich flavorful concoction that had me ThisClose to licking the plate clean.

The Supper Menu ended with the selection of gourmet cheeses, by which time I was satiated and sleepy. So I watched a couple of movies and then folded down the seat to sleep.

I was awakened by a pretty stewardess in time for breakfast which I'd pre-ordered before falling into slumber. And I ate every single bit of the "scrambled egg with chopped chives, grilled chicken sausages, sauteed mushrooms and hashbrown potatoes". Because it was that good.

Anyway, after abt 11+hrs, we landed in Spain where those of us going on to Sao Paulo were hustled off to the transit area. The shops beyond the glass window of the sala VIP lounge beckoned invitingly but I was told expressly that I was not allowed to help the Spanish economy with my tourist dollars. Oh well, their loss....and mine too, I might add, given how expensive everything turned out to be in Brazil. The transit in Spain was about one and a half hours, and we were delayed another hour because of some (idiot) passenger's luggage issues. As WIFI access was chargeable in the VIP lounge, I ended up using the lounge's computers to write about the movies I'd watched on board and of course, stuffing my face with the complimentary food in the lounge. Nothing like an opportunity to eat Spanish food for free. Yay for the waistline right? Right. So after stumbling rounded-belly back to the plane for the next leg of the trip which would last about 10hours, I was served with the Lunch Menu for Barcelona to Sao Paulo. As if I'd never eaten all that Spanish chow, I downed the Prelude which was 3 sticks of satay, followed by the Starter, smoked ham with roasted capsicum and mesclun.

I ordered the "Roasted duck breast, ginger bread sauce, carmelised pear, parsnip and leek" as the main course. The duck breast was not very tender or tasty but ate it all I did, rationalizing that it would be a waste of good food otherwise.

And then after the plates and all were cleared, I watched some more movies sprawled in the seat. Before sleeping again. I mean, come on, how could I possibly have thought that I could get away with not gaining any weight? It certainly didn't occur to me on the flight how much I was eating and how little I was exercising (do trips to the bathroom count?) in the 26 hours to Sau Paulo but as I write this blog entry with the aid of the pics I'd taken en route to Rio, I now realize how much I'd gorged just on the way there!

Oh, and before we reached Sao Paulo, there was one more meal to be served. Dinner! Yes, because of all the time differences between Singapore, Barcelona and Brazil. I can't remember what the starter was and I didn't take any pics of the menu this time round but it was beautifully presented and extremely tasty,

However, I do remember being disappointed by the cod fish which while well cooked and tender, had this strange taste to it. I guess I should have ordered the beef and was almost minded to ask for a replacement of my current main course which I'm sure they would have willingly given until I realized that the button of my jeans was biting into my belly. Not good.

I was glad when we finally reached Sao Paulo and the 26 hours of movies, sleep and food was over. The sight of the city of more than 39million people laid out below me got me all excited (the pic below is the first pic I took of the city from the plane) and I kind of forgotten how much I'd eaten on board.

Till I got up and the button of my only pair of jeans popped off when I reached up to get my laptop bag down. Way to start a holiday. After a short walk around the duty free at Sao Paulo airport in the hope of buying some pants, (Trust me, everything there is hideously more expensive than if purchased in Singapore or USA), I collected my check in luggage and made my way to the TAM counter for my flight to Rio.

My flight out to Rio was supposed to be at 9.40pm - I'd decided against booking the 7pm flight despite my arrival time being 5pm because the ticket was a lot more expensive. However, because the 5pm flight was relatively empty, the counter staff put my name on the standby list for that flight and I found myself rushing ticket in hand to the departure gate 5 mins before the take-off time.

The flight from Sao Paulo to Rio took an hour and because I'd stupidly forgotten to charge my blackberry on board the plane, it was dead after the 26hours of travelling. I was pretty much resigned to having to wait at Rio's airport (which had all of one cafe at the arrival area) for my airport transfer to come get me at 11pm (I'd arranged this based on my earlier flight time of 9.40pm) but a very kind stewardess helped me call the airport transfer 24hr hotline and the driver came at 8pm to send me to my hotel in Rio.

And that was how after almost 30 hours of travelling and feasting, I found myself in the city I'd always wanted to be in since watching Fast and Furious - Rio De Janerio.